Fuel tanker fire sparks tears in Ibadan

Traders, motorists and passengers had no inkling of what will befall them that early morning. Those who had retired to their homes after the previous day’s hustling were yet to get to their various trading posts. Some received phone calls to the effect that their shops had been burnt. WALE AJETUNMOBI reports that the fire, which claimed no life, was as a result of the carelessness of a Jigawa-bound truck.

If this had happened at 8:00 a.m., we would have been packing burnt human bodies by now.” This was the response of Mr. Adisa Adeagbo, a commercial cab driver, after a fuel-laden tanker burst into flames in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Sunday.

One unidentified person was burnt beyond recognition, while several commuters were injured as vehicles conveying them to various destinations caught fire. The incident happened at Oremeji-Agugu axis of Lagos-Ibadan Highway. No fewer than 30 road-side shops, four trailers and 12 passengers’ vehicles were razed.

Traders, who owned the shops, broke down in tears when they arrived at the scene. None of the traders could pick anything, as all materials and goods kept in their shops were completely burnt.

The incident, which happened at 6:30 a.m., was said to have been caused by Jigawa-bound truck, registered as KZR 418 XA, loaded with wheat.

Southwest Report gathered that the truck lost control while on high speed as it attempted to overtake another truck laden with cartons of pasta, biscuits and noodles. The front section of the Jigawa-bound truck, eyewitnesses said, came off, ramming into a NIPCO fuel tanker parked on the road side.

The fuel tanker burst into flames as its content spilled on the road. Commuters ran helter-skelter as diesel flowed from the tanker’s silo before it went up in flames. Petrol attendants at Fakinlayo Filling Station close to the scene shut the station and fled.

Eyewitnesses said though some passengers tried to escape as there was pandemonium; some sustained some degrees of burnt in the ensuing uproar when the vehicles conveying them caught fire at the scene.

Most of the road-side traders had not opened for business when the incident happened. Unquantifiable amount of goods kept in the shops were completely burnt.

Nurudeen Alimi, who drove one of the razed trailers, with registration number JJJ 363 XB owned by a logistics company, relived how he escaped.

He said: “I parked my truck on the road side to check a fault I noticed in the engine of my vehicle. Then, I sighted a wheat-laden trailer driving on top speed and attempted to overtake another trailer, which was moving at a normal speed. The wheat-laden trailer lost control and broke into two. The head rammed into a NIPCO tanker parked at a distant behind my truck and there was a loud bang.

“Before I knew what was going on, the content of the tanker had started spilling on the road. I fled the scene, because I knew what would happen next. Just before I ran a few metres, the tanker went up in flames. From where I stood, I could see passengers of on-coming vehicles rushing down and scampering in different directions. Nobody died; but some of them were injured as they made attempt to flee the scene.”

Traders’ lament

Most of the traders were yet to come to terms with the tragedy that befell them. They arrived at the scene one after the other to count their losses. They were left with charred materials of their wares.

A trader identified as Mrs Amope could not be consoled as she wept uncontrollably at the spot where her wooden shop was razed. “Where will I start again?” Mrs Amope said, adding: “I just bought goods to stock up my shop with money I borrowed. I have not even started selling the goods to enable me to repay the money given to me by my lenders. Everything has been burnt this morning.”

Mrs Amope was led away almost naked from the scene by sympathisers.

A lotto operator, Wale Olalere whose kiosk was razed, said he was still in bed when he got calls, informing him of the incident.

“When I got the calls, I quickly got up and came here. As you can see, I cannot recognise the spot where I had my kiosk. Everything I left in the kiosk, including my lotto machine, has been burnt. I don’t know what to do now, because this is where I get my daily bread,” he said.

Mrs Mosunmola Adesina, who sells alcoholic drinks, wept as she counted her losses.

She said: “I have three shops here and I have lost everything to the fire. All my deep freezers, power generating set and the drinks have all gone. How do I start all over again?”

The leader of Oremeji Market, Mrs Omotunde Grace, said the traders had complained to the government about the activities of trailers and fuel tankers in the area. She said the inferno would have extended to buildings close to the market if the tanker had been loaded with petrol. She urged the government to stop trucks and fuel tankers from parking close to the market.

Looting by hoodlums

While the inferno raged, some dare-devil miscreants swarmed on the shops and burning trailers to loot. The hoodlums attacked fire fighters from Oyo State Fire Service, who moved to the scene at 7:00 a.m. to put out the fire. The hoodlums looted cartons of pasta and noodles from one of the burnt trailers. The fire fighters got to work after a combined team of soldiers, riot policemen and Civil Defence Corps deployed to the scene dispersed the hoodlums.

Adeleke Isiaka, who led the fire team said: “We responded to the distress call immediately and we got here in time. But 20 minutes after we arrived, we were prevented by hoodlums looting at the scene. We were able to put out the inferno within a few hours. I can confirm to you there was no life lost.

For more than 10 hours, travellers were left stranded on the highway. Vehicles coming from Lagos diverted to the opposite lane, causing gridlock. Officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had hectic time controlling the traffic.

FRSC’s Oluyole Unit Commander, Mrs Titilayo Olayiwola, said investigation was ongoing to ascertain the cause of the incident.

Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu said: “Immediately we got the news, we contacted the Fire Service. But for the quick intervention of the firemen, the havoc would have been worst. We drafted policemen to the scene and the report we got is that 10 vehicles and several shops were burnt.